I'm done with my ninth semester of college. I have learned that abstract mathematics is a little absurd and non-relevant, but in a 'this is actually kind of cool to learn, but impossible to take a test on' kind of way. Ok, maybe that's a little pessimistic, but I've learned that historians in universities don't exactly study the cutting-edge material that the average Joe cares about either. Oh well, I digress (can you digress in the first paragraph of a post?)
It's a relief! I brought a load of 6 books (monographs is the proper academic term) back to the library, and for good measure deposited my stress with them- hopefully the librarians can find a good place for that. I haven't shaved in weeks, and I even started wearing sweatpants to class because, well, putting on jeans is sometimes a little too hard. My work table, once scattered with assorted syllabi and necessary student teaching information, now simply hosts pens, pencils, an overused water bottle (courtesy of UND dining services), and my Ethernet cord-dependent computer where I watch ultra running documentaries while eating apples with peanut butter. You could say I'm living the dream.
I suppose I should mention something about running. I raced three times this semester. Back in September I raced unattached (unaffiliated with UND because I didn't have cross country eligibility) at the famed Roy Griak Invitational at the Univeristy of Minnesota, running at probably a 90% effort level and having a lot of fun! In October I raced at the UND home cross country meet, placing second and running a big pr of 24:37 for the 8km (5 mile) race; it was a super fun race where I got race side by side against a stud from the University of Manitoba. Then, a little more than a week ago I raced the mile at South Dakota State, this time in the UND jersey, and ran a 4:13 solo and felt pretty good.
My overall plan remains unchanged: I will be at UND for another semester to finish out my track eligibility (ahem, I mean my education) and chase some of my dreams. This next summer I will be out at Camp of the Cross Ministries near Garrison, ND again, coordinating fun trips on Lake Sakakawea and in the Badlands (along with numerous Vacation Bible Schools). Next fall I will be student teaching somewhere, hopefully away from Grand Forks and likely training as hard as ever, for what event I've yet to decide- that'll come later.
Moving to the meat and potatoes of the post, I've learned some more serious lessons this semester when it comes to running and training. Here they are:
1.) If you want to be a better runner, you have to run more. It's literally that simple. People can overcomplicate all they want, but good writers practice writing; good researchers practice research; good shooters practice shooting; good cooks practice cooking- the list is endless. I've upped my weekly mileage to around 80 this semester, and it helps.
2.) Rest and nutrition are vital. I used to think I took care of myself, but I'm finally learning how to actually do it. Minimum of 8 hours of sleep every night, healthy eating, and not doing anything strenuous on recovery days have me feeling strong on workout days. My easy days rarely dip under 7:00 pace anymore, and that's perfectly fine. Never push an easy run.
3.) No single workout will make you fast. It seems that people are always looking for that one killer workout. They scour the logs of fast runners to find those workouts that leave people kissing the ground afterwards, dreaming of destroying their opponents because they made it through that one workout. This is immortalized in the famous "Once a Runner" book in which the main character completes an idiotic 3x(20x400m) workout and no longer gets tired when he runs afterwards. This is not true in the real world. Training is an accumulation of miles and workouts over time. The more consistent the training, the more fit the runner. The more fit the runner, the better the runner performs. Each workout is important, and no workout should be pointed to when success is achieved, but rather the weeks of workouts added up over time.
4.) Trust in team and coach is more important than than the individual. There are scores of running philosophies that can be found everywhere nowadays (it seems that Daniel's Running Formula is the current flavor of the month), and this can actually be harmful to a team. When reading a training book, it could be easy and tempting to ditch the philosophy of your coach and team and try to better yourself by training like the 'elites'. However, to go even further with the bullet point before this one, precise workouts are not that important. If a team has developed an atmosphere where everybody buys into the team philosophy and believe that the coach(es) can get them to achieve their goals, they probably will. If athletes turn their backs on the team or coaches in search of something 'better' to make them 'faster', the dynamic will fall apart and success will likely not appear. I'm fully transparent to my coach, we tailor my weekly workouts and schedules to what I need to try to be successful. I'm not going to sit down and say "I really think we need more I-paced interval this week", because my coach has more than 25 years of experience. If he says I'm running 400s today (full disclosure: I ran 400s today), I'm running 400s today. We can look at paces and recovery, but honestly it doesn't matter that much what the tiny details are. If I finish and I'm starting to run low on fumes, that means I worked my body hard, and that's all I need to get better. Like I said above, running can be complicated or it can be simple. You can make every run a certain exact pace with exact rest and plan out how much of your weekly mileage will be at certain paces, or you can just listen to your body and roll with the punches. I'll choose the latter.
5.) Some people are simply more naturally talented than others. However, talent is a little bit different than I originally thought. Talent isn't necessarily that a person can go run for the first time and beat everybody. In fact, many of the best runners started out mediocre or even unwilling to try out track or cross country. Talent is how people respond to training. If ten people who run races at the same exact paces are given the exact same training for the exact same amount of time, one person of the ten will be the fastest by the end, and one person will be the slowest. What this means is that every person needs training tailored to them. Just because a friend runs some ridiculous workout doesn't mean you should too. Believe it or not, people are in fact different.
6.) Watching passionate coaches that have the respect of their athletes is addicting.
7.) Watching passionate athletes that have the respect of their coaches is addicting.
8.) My blog posts are too long.
That's all for now! With winter break coming up, I'd like to throw up a couple of research posts like I did last winter break. We'll see what happens.
Peace
Owry!
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